By Carolyn Heneghan

It’s widely accepted that with each generation of video games comes better, more realistic graphics and gameplay, and music games are no exception. While the Guitar Hero and Rock Band plastic guitar series may initially come to mind, much earlier games like Simon (1978), Break Dance (1984), Otocky (1987) and PaRappa the Rapper (1997) actually built the foundation of the music game industry. Now in 2013, we’re seeing a rise in the caliber of music games, some of which were revealed at this year’s E3 Conference.

Rocksmith 2014

Originally released in 2011, Ubisoft’s Rocksmith returns with Rocksmith 2014 with its smoother, more innovative user experience and its highly anticipated new feature, the Session Mode. Rocksmith’s main objective is to teach users how to play the guitar by allowing them to plug in an actual guitar or bass (with a special adapter) into their game console and then monitoring their progress as they follow through the lesson plans.

But now, after considering user feedback, Rocksmith developers unleashed a new feature at E3: Session Mode. Instead of having to play by themselves, users are now able to play with a band jamming in the background right along with them. This means having a full band to play with no matter what—no missed practices, no dropping out to focus on a day job or significant other, no noise complaints.

Users can customize their bands by selecting four different instruments to play along with them, including a variety of guitars, basses, drums and other instruments, or they can select a preset band based on a chosen genre. The band will adjust with your volume and intensity, and they’ll slowly stop when you stop—just like in a real jam session. The experience may not be as polished as with an actual band, but it certainly does simulate a group of friends rocking out as they please.

Rocksmith will be released in October 2013 for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC/Mac.

BandFuse: Rock Legends

BandFuse: Rock Legends promotes a similar concept. Through the songs of featured rock legends (Pearl Jam, Slash, Rush, Judas Priest to name a few), BandFuse improves the learning curve for brand new, novice and expert players alike with its “pick up and play” experience. It too connects real guitars, basses and microphones to the game console and opens up a collection of hits from rock to funk to punk for users to play along with, whether they are learning basic fingerings or mastering solos.

Similar to Rocksmith’s Session Mode, BandFuse allows users to form bands in multiplayer mode in real-time, with online Leaderboards and Challenges up for grabs. The Sound Like a Rock Legend feature adds authentic amp and pedal effects without all the extra equipment, and Total Song Control allows you to have complete control over tempo and loops for the song you’re practicing.

BandFuse will be released in fall 2013 for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

Fantasia: Music Evolved

Fantasia: Music Evolved is not a game that is readily easy to describe or encapsulate in just a few paragraphs. The complexities of this motion-controlled game are awe-inspiring, based on the musical Disney classic Fantasia with all of its own beauty, mystery and wonder.

With the Muse, or your 3D cursor, you bring life forms, songs and worlds to life as the new apprentice of Yen Sid, Fantasia’s own magician. During gameplay, the user conducts the song along with beats, and while there are implied directions, the user can move as she wants, dance and grab sounds and create melodies during solo portions. There will also be opportunities for the user to change the song by selecting from different options that will transform the song into a unique mash-up of sorts, such as by adding a metal guitar riff or orchestral background.

Any description simply does not do the game justice. The game has to be seen—and likely played—to be fully understood, but there is a lot of promise for it. Created by Harmonix, the developers who brought users Rock Band and Dance Central, this game is completely unlike its predecessors. It does not require you to hit certain buttons in certain ways at certain times. The game is much more freeform and gives the user all the control he or she could ever want over the music being played and conducted right there on the screen.

There is no precise release date for Fantasia: Music Evolved as of yet, but it will eventually be released for Xbox One and Xbox 360 Kinect.

The three big music games at E3 2013 wowed audiences with attractive demos and gameplay. Just be ready when they hit the stands in the coming months.

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